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Remote Access to WiFi
How to setup Ruckus router for Remote Access via WiFi
NOTE: ALL REFERENCES to GoogleWifi in Mountain View no longer apply. Google abandoned that project, but this document still may be useful to you.
If you are using something like a Ruckus Wireless Router such as the Metroflex, in conjunction with an ISP such as GoogleWiFi, and you want to be able to access your machine from outside using another computer that isn't part of your Local Area Network (LAN), then you need to do several things that are relatively easy to setup. I'm using a Macintosh OS X 10.5.8 system, but these instructions apply to other systems as well. My Ruckus MM2211 is connected to my Mac via an Ethernet cable. My machine also has "Airport", but I'm using the Ruckus to connect to the Internet in "Route" mode (vs "Bridge" mode).
ROUTE MODE
First, you need to configure your Network Preferences. From the system's menu bar, go to: Apple->Location->Network Preferences... Pull down the "Location:" menu and choose "New Location". Give your new location a name, such as "RuckusRoute", and click the OK button. If "Show:" isn't already showing "Built-in Ethernet", then choose that from the Show menu. You should now have your new location showing in "Location:" and Built-in Ethernet showing in "Show:". Click the "TCP/IP" tab and then choose "Using DHCP" from the "Configure IPv4:" menu. For "Search Domains:", enter "google.com". It also doesn't hurt to enter a pair of "DNS Servers" such as "8.8.8.8" and "8.8.4.4". Click "Apply Now" to make these permanent settings. You've now setup your Network information. Quit from System Preferences. Then check Apple->Location to see what location is selected. If is NOT "RuckusRoute", then select it.
Turned on your Ruckus router to get it it connected to the nearest WiFi node. You should see all lights become active. Go to: Apple->Location->Network Preferences... to see what is assigned to the IP address of the Built-in Ethernet. Make a note of that number, which usually is something like 198.162.1.100 (or more). Quit from System Preferences.
Launch your favorite browser. I use either Firefox or Safari. Make your GoogleWiFi active by entering the following URL:
I have a Bookmarked link, which is specific to Mountain View where I have my computer. You may need to login to your Google Account. Once that has completed, bring up the Ruckus WebUI, again using a Bookmarked link to 198.162.1.1, and login to that. The username should be "admin", and the hidden password should be "password". Click on Information -> System and make a note of the IP Address there. It should be GoogleWiFi's address, like 64.9.2xx.yyy. Click on the Configuration -> System choice where you'll find a "LAN Interface" section. Click on the NAT button (it should be checked, as should "DHCP Server"). If you had an old Port Forward entry, Delete it. Under Nat Configuration -> Port Forwarding, enter some Application Name (I used "ssh"). Then enter the Local Address as the Network Address you found under Network Preferences... (should be something like 198.162.1.100). Enter Ext.Port of 22. Make sure TCP is checked. (Doesn't hurt to check UDP too.) Then click the "Add Port Forward". If you wish to add port 80, repeat the entry/add process with a different Application Name, like "http", with Ext.Port of 80. Finally click "Update".
Therefore, under NAT, I have TWO entries in the Port Forwarding Table:
ssh 198.162.1.100 22 TCP/UDP
http 198.162.1.100 80 TCP/UDP
I need these two because I do both Remote Login and Personal Web Sharing on this machine. You would only have to do this setup once, unless your router gives you a different Local IP address (not 198.162.1.100). See the Images at the end of this document.
If you intend to have your system act as a Web-Server, you need to activate Personal Web Sharing in System Preferences->Sharing. Also, if you wish to allow Remote Login, you need to activate Remote Login as well.
You should now be able to Remote Login to this computer using something like:
ssh yourn...@64.9.2xx.yyy
sftp yourn...@64.9.2xx.yyy
from anywhere, until you lose your GoogleWiFi connection. The IP address you supply from the outside world is the one shown by "Information -> System" on your Ruckus router, like 64.9.2xx.yyy. To make outside references easier, you should create an account with "https://www.dyndns.com/account/" where you'll enter a "Username" and "Password" that can be associated with up to two free "host" names that you can define specific to your needs. Click on "Create Account" to get started. Be sure your Username doesn't have blanks in it. When you create your "host" names, you should create something unique to you, and combine it with a domain name from the list provided by DynDNS. The combination becomes your hostname, such as: gangsterwifi.dnsalias.net, or whatever suits you. You only need one hostname even though you may be allowing access over multiple ports.
Once you have a DynDSN hostname, you should download and install the "DynDNS Updater" application available from <http://www.dyndns.com/support/clients/mac.html>, which works well with Mac OS X 10.4.2 and above. It is easy to install by just dragging the application into your Applications folder, or even directly to the Dock. But be careful! You must be completely connected, with GoogleWiFi active, before you launch DNSUpdater. It may stall during the first launch when it installs the daemon it uses to contact the DynDNS Database. If that happens, you'll have to "Force Quit" (this is a known bug). But relaunch should work fine. What DNSUpdater does for you is take the GoogleWiFi IP address and send it to the hostname stored in the DynDNS Database. Anyone who wants to reference your machine (Remote Login or Web Access) just uses your DynDNS hostname instead of the constantly changing GoogleWiFi IP address. I've got DNSUpdater configured (via Preferences) to work in "Auto" mode. This causes the daemon to run when you launch DNSUpdater, and then shuts it down when you Quit. You only need to Launch and Quit to update the DynDNS Database. Typically, once you've got a GoogleWiFi IP address, it doesn't change until you break the Ethernet connection or power down the Ruckus router.
The typical sequence for getting up and running, and accessible from the outside world is as follows:
1. Power up the Ruckus router and wait until it has acquired a signal from the WiFi node.
2. Start/restart your Mac.
3. Launch Firefox (or Safari) and establish the GoogleWiFi connection using the bookmarked URL shown above. You can "Sign Out". That doesn't drop the connection.
4. Launch / Quit the DNSUpdater application.
That's it! Your "hostname" should be accessible from outside machines. It may NOT be accessible from itself. It doesn't make sense to Remote Login to yourself, and you can always access your own web pages using 127.0.0.1 as the IP address.
Once you are connected to a GoogleWifi node using Safari or Firefox, you can determine its physical location and status using this URL: http://192.168.168.168/client.pl
I have written a couple of Applescripts that makes step 3 very easy, just a double-click of an icon on your Desktop. Create the following Applescript within the Script Editor (and save it with any name.applescript you like):
- tell application "Finder"
- launch "Firefox"
- tell application "Firefox"
- activate
- OpenURL "https://www.google.com/"
- end tell
- end tell
If you prefer Safari, change "Firefox" to "Safari", and replace the OpenURL line by the following pair of lines:
- make new document at end of documents
- set URL of document 1 to "https://www.google.com/webhp"
Turn the Applescript into an application (save as...) and save it on your Desktop. Double-click it to establish GoogleWifi.
For more information, visit: < http://forums.osxfaq.com/viewtopic.php?=&p=60271>
BRIDGE MODE
You can switch your Ruckus to "Bridge" mode by logging into the modem while it is in "Route" mode (see earlier description). Once there, navigate to the Configuration -> System page and click on the System Mode: Bridge (radio button). Then, under Maintenance, do a Reboot of the modem. You should Quit from your browser, and Restart your computer. When it comes back up, check under System Preferences -> Network to see if your "RuckusRoute" location shows a Google IP-address, rather than a 192.168.x.y address. If So, you now have your WAN address piped directly to your Network Preferences. Fine, but what if you want to go back to "Route" mode? Contrary to popular myth, you do NOT have to reset your modem. Just create a new Location in Network Preferences, with a name such as "RuckusBridge". Select "Built-in Ethernet" from the "Show" menu, and "RuckusBridge" from the "Location" menu. Under the TCP/IP tab, choose "Using DHCP with manual address" for "Configure IPv4", and enter "192.168.0.100" as the "IP Address". Enter the same DNS Servers and Search Domain as you had in the "RuckusRoute" location. Then, click "Apply Now" to activate this "RuckusBridge" location. You may wish to keep Network Preference open show you can switch back to "RuckusRoute" later. Meanwhile, launch any browser, and enter: http://192.168.0.254/ into the URL line, and press your "return" key. There may be a delay, but you should see the Ruckus login page. The username should be "admin", and the hidden password should show as a sequences of stars (********). Complete the login and you should now be able to makes changes to the modem using its WebUI. Most importantly, you can visit Configuration -> System and switch back to "Route" mode. Be sure to Reboot the modem. Then, back in Network Preferences, select the "RuckusRoute" location, click the "Renew DHCP Lease" button, and "Apply Now". Quit System Preferences, and Restart.
Images:
Google Sites
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